Stranded: A Big Valley story
by CollieandShire
Summary: The Barkley brothers and their younger sister Krissy head up to their cabin in the Sierra-Nevadas. Sorry, there is no Audra, just my own character, Krissy. Please read and review anyways! AU.
1. Introduction

Writer's Note: I do not claim to own any of the Barkley characters save Kristina (Krissy) Barkley, who is my own creation. Otherwise all the rest of the characters belong to the makers of _The Big Valley _TV show.

-Shire from CollieandShire

**_Stranded: A Big Valley Story_**

Written by Shire

_**CHARACTERS**_

**Victoria Barkley: **the widowed mother of the Barkley family. Her gentle character and loving ways make her a favorite in the Valley. She's fifty-one.

**Jarrod Barkley: **the oldest Barkley brother, being twenty-eight. He's the lawyer of the family, and likes to think everything through before plunging on ahead with ideas. This proves hard seeing how both Nick and Krissy are always coming up with some genius idea that turns into a disaster.

**Nick Barkley: **The second oldest Barkley boy. He's twenty-six, a cowboy through and through, and is the hot-headed brother of the bunch. He's always arguing with someone, particularly Krissy, who always is messing something of his up.

**Heath Barkley: **The youngest brother of the Barkley's. He's twenty-four, and the most laid back of the family. Easy going and friendly, Heath loves the outdoors and the range.

**Kristina Barkley: **Kristina (Krissy) is the only girl and the youngest of the Barkley's. At eight years old, she shows an unusual amount of intelligence. Krissy loves science, which gets her in a lot of trouble with Nick, especially when her experiments go wrong.

* * *

_***INTRODUCTION***_

Krissy snatched the baking soda, pausing to look over her new volcano. _The best one yet! s_he thought, satisfied. _But will it explode this time? _There was just one way to find out. So far she hadn't come up with any solutions that caused explosions like a volcano, but perhaps today would be her lucky day.

She poured the baking soda into the bottle, then jerked the funnel out and snapped the lid shut. "Take cover!" she yelled, and ran towards the nearest stall. Krissy threw the stall door open, then shut it behind her and hid under Manny's legs, their cart horse. He could have cared less, and continued to munch on his hay. Nothing happened.

She waited thirty seconds, then groaned, and came back out of the stall. Her volcano was still there, and it still hadn't erupted. "Aww." she mumbled. Walking back towards her volcano, she look at the bottle. Suddenly it exploded and baking soda mixed with vinegar flew everywhere! Krissy screeched and ran a safe distance away, then whirled around. A messy solution caked the barn ceiling.

"It worked!" she yelled with glee. Then stopped. "Nick's gonna kill me!" she muttered. She looked up at the ceiling again. She would have to clean that up. Krissy scampered up the hayloft ladder, snatched a rope and lassoed the nearest beam. After tying it, she searched around for a board, which she could make a little swing. _That way, I can swing back and forth with a mop and get it all off! _Krissy thought with a grin. She sure was smart!

Finding the right sized board, she tied the end of the rope to the board, and then went to locate the nearest mop. It wasn't that hard. Mary, the maid, had left one to dry in the sun, and so she went and got that one.

Krissy filled a bucket with water and soap, sloshed back to the barn and back up the ladder. She soaked the mop well, then snatched it up and leapt on her swing. She squealed with delight as she swung back and forth across the barn. This was the best idea she'd gotten since-well, since her invention of the broom stilts!

Krissy snatched the mop, then swiped it back and forth across the ceiling, taking all of her 'volcano lava' off. Now no one would know she'd made a mess! But it was not to be, for her mop caught the beam, sending her flying off and the board towards the top barn window. She landed straight into Manny's hay pile with a _thud_! As usual, Manny regarded her with little interest, unspooked by the child's sudden entrance on his breakfast. Krissy's mind wasn't on that right then though. No, she was watching in horror as the board crashed through the window, sending glass into a million pieces. "NO!" She moaned. Now she was in for it! Krissy leapt out of the hay pile and climbed over the stall door. _I'll have to fix that window on the double! _She thought, panicked. Nick would have killed her for the volcano mess, but he would _pulverize _her for the broken window!

"Glue!" she shouted. "That's what I need, glue!" Krissy raced towards the tack room, searched it and found the gorilla glue. "Perfect!" She said, a smug grin on her face. She raced back towards the ladder and clambered up, running towards the broken window. Krissy snatched the first glass piece she could find, slathered glue all over it and stuck it back in the window frame. _This is gonna take a while._ She thought.

When she'd FINALLY gotten down to the last pieces, Krissy set the glue down and stuffed the second to last piece in it's place._ One more! _She thought. She reached for the glue. It wasn't there. Glancing around, she realized she'd put it on the other side of the window! "Oh no!" she whined. Now she'd have to climb onto the roof and grab it, before Nick and Heath came back. She opened up one of the other windows and climbed out of the barn, swinging herself onto the roof.

Krissy inched her way to where she'd set the glue, and climbed down onto the small platform in front of the window. With one sweep of her hand she snatched the glue up. Taking the piece of glass she'd brought with her, she glued it into place. "Perfect!" She said, proud of her achievements.

"Krissy!" a voice shouted at her. Frightened out of her wits she whirled around-and fell off the roof. Again luck was with her, for she landed in the hay wagon. _Thunk_! The sound spooked the horses into a gallop, and they took off across the yard.

"Whoa!" Heath shouted, pulling them back.

_Of course I landed in their wagon! _She thought. She'd have to make her escape, and quick! While the boys occupied themselves with the horses, Krissy searched around, frantic for something to leap onto. There was her favorite tree! Krissy jumped up and leapt out of the wagon, grabbed the branch to the tree and scampered up. She knew no one could see her here! _I'm gonna get it if Nick finds me though! _She thought to herself.

She watched as her brothers stopped the horses, and both of them jumped out. Nick ran to the back of the hay wagon to snatch Krissy, but she was nowhere in sight. _Ha! _Krissy thought triumphantly. _You ain't gonna find me! _

"Krissy!" Nick roared. "WHERE ARE YOU!"

Krissy didn't answer. She knew better than to do that, above all when Nick was in one of his bad moods.

"Maybe you should put the horses back." Heath suggested.

"I DON'T NEED YOU TO TELL ME WHAT TO DO!" Nick yelled. He snatched the reins of the horses and jerked them towards the barn. They reacted and reared up. _NOT good. _Krissy thought. This would take Nick a long time to get over.

He shouted at the horses, jerked them down and forced them to follow him. As a rule he was pretty good with them, but not right now. She watched as he lead them into the barn and slammed the barn doors behind him.

"You should probably leave." she heard someone say.

She squealed, and fell out of the tree. Heath caught her just in time, and laughed. "Uh oh, you're in for it now!" he warned.

"Oh no!" Krissy yelped, and jerked herself away from her blond brother. Krissy ran across the yard and into the treed area. She was determined not to get into trouble-at least not at that second. She could hear Nick yelling at Heath to tell him where she was. _Heath's right, better stay out of sight for a while._ She thought.

This was an ordinary day in the life of Kristina Barkley.


	2. Chapter one

_**CHAPTER ONE **_

The Barkley family was the wealthiest family in all of Stockton. They had a large ranch, fine horses and the best cattle. Despite all this wealth, they were a kind and caring family. Victoria Barkley couldn't be more proud of her three sons and daughter. They were hard working, loving and playful. Though all of them were grown up save her daughter, every one of them lived at home. Most of the time it was a blessing she thanked God for everyday, but then there were days like today.

Days when Jarrod was in San Francisco and hardly ever home. Days when Nick and Heath were tired every night and grouchy from their day's work. And, worst of all, days when Krissy couldn't keep herself out of trouble. This, was one of those days.

Victoria knew right away that is was 'one of those days' the minute Heath walked in, a smug grin on his face.

"What is it Heath?" Victoria asked suspiciously.

"Oh mother! You really missed that display of brotherly love out there?" Heath said, his grin growing wider.

"I'm afraid I have." Victoria sighed. "What did Krissy do?"

"I'm not quite sure. Other than the fact she was on top of the barn and fell into our wagon." Heath replied, helping himself to an apple.

"Oh no! Did it spook the horses?"

"You bet it spooked the horses! Boy howdy I thought Nick was gonna kill her, the way he tore out of that wagon." Heath laughed at the thought. Then added, "Which, he just might. He's out looking for her right now."

"I'm sure we'll find out soon enough." Victoria said.

She had no sooner finished saying this when _Bang! _

Krissy raced through the door, slammed it shut and locked it. She braced herself against it, breathing hard. _WHAM! _Someone ran into the door.

"Krissy!" Nick bellowed from outside. Krissy slouched down and sighed. Then grinned.

"Ha!" she cackled.

"KRISSY!" Nick slammed his fists against the door. "Open this door _now_!"

"Not happening!" she squealed, doubled over with laughter. She ran to the living room and opened the window, shouting out of it, "Really Nick, do you think I'd actually let you in?"

Nick raced to that window and shoved his arm through, trying to grab her.

"Yikes!" she yelled, and shut the window on his hand.

"Oww!" Nick howled.

Krissy didn't waste a second-she sped to all the windows on the floor and shut them. "Try getting in now!" she shouted, victorious.

During this whole 'display' Heath and Victoria watched in silence, amusement on their faces. Neither of them spoke until Krissy came skipping in, a cute smile on her face.

"Hello mother!" she sang out sweetly.

"Hello dear." Victoria replied with a smile.

"You locked all the windows Kriss?" Heath asked, grinning.

"Of course I did!" Krissy exclaimed.

"The upstairs ones too?" Heath prodded.

Krissy stopped in her tracks, and her face went white. Whirling to face the living room window, she groaned, "Oh, no!" There was Nick, climbing fast up the house.

Krissy ran up the stairs two at a time, and ran from room to room. She was determined to shut all those windows, and fast!

It took three minutes to get them all shut. Once done, Krissy slumped onto the floor and let out a sigh of relief. Which, didn't last very long.

"Hello Krissy!" Nick hissed.

Krissy screamed and leapt up, for there was Nick. And he _wasn't_ outside of the house.

Before Nick could grab his little sister she shot between his legs and out of the room. Slamming the door shut, she locked it and jumped down the staircase. She failed to notice the figure of Heath, standing next to the room she'd just come from.

Heath watched Krissy run down the stairs, and a smile came across his face. He inched towards the door, and curled his fingers around the lock. _Click._

Heath leapt back just in time, as the form of Nick crashed through the now opened doorway.

"Look out Krissy!" Heath hollered. "He's lose!"

"You cheater!" She shrieked from below.

Heath fell to the ground, laughing.

* * *

By the time lunch rolled around, Nick was soaked in sweat. Krissy was soaked too, after a serious water trough dunking. She looked like a drowned rat, her hair was so matted. This was the sight that greeted Victoria as she called the Barkley's together for the meal.

"Oh dear, Krissy. You look horrible!" Victoria exclaimed as Krissy took her seat next to Heath.

"I bet!" she mumbled. Even so, she couldn't help getting a twinkle in her eye.

"She better be grateful I'd cooled down by the time I caught her!" Nick huffed, sitting down.

"Honestly, you didn't look very 'cooled down' to me!" Krissy snapped.

Before Nick could reply Victoria said sternly, "Krissy, no arguing at the table." Turning to Heath, Victoria beckoned for him to say grace. Everyone bowed their heads.

"Dear Lord, thanks that it is such a beautiful day, that we were able to use the last of the fall's hay, and that everyone is safe from the days dangers and mishaps. Amen."

As soon as Heath said 'Amen' Nick was on his meat in a flash. Heath was no different, and they ate like starved wolves.

"What's the hurry? It ain't goin no where." Krissy snorted as she looked on.

"Easy for you to say." Nick said between mouthfuls.

"Nick, don't talk with your mouth full." Victoria reminded her son. She picked up her fork and knife and began to cut her pork.

"So what did you do today Krissy?" Victoria asked her youngest child.

Krissy stopped eating her salad and said, "Oh, all kinds of things!"

"Like what?" Victoria prompted.

"I finally created a substance for my volcano that will actually blow up!" Krissy replied in an animated way. "All this time it was baking soda and vinegar! You should have seen it mother, it shot up to the barn ceiling!"

Nick choked on the large piece of meat in his mouth, and grabbed his glass of water. Gulping it down, he cleared his throat and growled, "What did you say?"

"What what?" Krissy asked, confused.

"About the barn ceiling." Nick snapped.

"Oh. The volcano shot it's contents clear up to the barn ceiling." Krissy said, eyeing her older brother. She seemed a little nervous.

"You mean you made a mess in the barn!" Nick bellowed.

"No. I cleaned it up." Krissy said proudly. Then added, "And the window isn't broken anymore."

At this Heath put down his fork and stated, "Krissy, the window was _never _broken."

"Uhh, well," Krissy stuttered, "It got broken this afternoon."

"What!" Nick shouted.

"Nick, lower your voice." Victoria commanded. Nick rolled his eyes but did as he was told.

"It's not broken anymore. I fixed it. I glued it all together. It took a whole hour." Krissy explained.

"Krissy, you don't glue a window back together! Frankly, I'm not sure why it was broken in the first place!" Nick said, exasperated.

"I crashed into it with the swing I made."

"Whoa!" Heath said, now getting more interested. "You made a swing?"

"Yeah, so I could clean up the mess." Krissy replied.

"What mess!" Nick exclaimed.

"The one I made with the volcano." Krissy said, annoyed. "Nick you're confusing me."

"You think you're confused!" Nick snarled.

"Nick, please. Lower your voice." Victoria said with a sigh. "And Krissy stop arguing."

"Yes mother." Krissy and Nick said in unison. They glanced at each other.

"I'll get you later." Nick hissed to her. She glared at him.

"So Krissy, why were you on the roof?" Heath now asked.

"Because I was gluing the window and the glue was on the outside."

"How did it get on the outside?" Heath said, raising an eyebrow.

"Well I put it out there." Krissy mumbled.

"Why?"

"Because I forgot I did."

Nick rolled his eyes and said, "Krissy, how did you _forget _you put the glue outside the window?"

"I don't know, I just did. Anyways I climbed out the window-"

"The broken one!" Nick interrupted, shocked.

"No, the other one." Krissy said. "But it wasn't broken." she added.

"I don't know about you, but I'm hopelessly confused." Heath said with a laugh.

"If Jarrod were here he'd tell you what I meant." Krissy complained. A thought popped into her head, and she turned to Victoria. "Mother," she asked, "When is Jarrod coming home?"

Victoria stopped eating and put her fork down, wiping her face with her napkin. "Actually, I needed to discuss that with you all." she said with a smile. "Jarrod's coming home tonight-"

"Tonight!" Krissy interrupted. "YEEHHAA!"

"Krissy, you don't yeehhaa at the table." Victoria reminded her daughter.

"Oh yeah, sorry." Krissy apologized.

"Anyways, Jarrod is coming home tonight." Victoria continued. "And he was hoping you boys would like to make a trip up the mountains to check on the cottage."

"That would be great!" Heath exclaimed. "The nice, cool mountains and plenty of creeks to fish in!"

"That sounds nice." Nick said with a grin.

"I figured you'd think that." Victoria replied. "Jarrod wants to leave tomorrow."

"Whoa! That doesn't give us that much time!" Nick said.

"Jarrod only has a week off from the office. He wants to get up there as quick as possible." Victoria explained.

"Oh boy! I want to go too!" Krissy shouted, excited.

"No." Nick said, cutting her short.

"What?" Krissy asked.

"There is no way you're coming with us." Nick stated bluntly.

"Hey you aren't in charge! Mother is!" Krissy protested.

"Mother! Tell her she can't go!" Nick said, turning to Victoria.

"I'm afraid I can't." Victoria said slowly. "That will be up to Jarrod."

Nick stole a glance at Krissy, who was giving him her 'Jarrod's-nice-and-will-let-me' look. He returned it with his 'we'll-see-about-that' look.

"Whatever the decision, I hope I ain't in the middle of it!" Heath snickered.


	3. Chapter two

_Okay, here's the next chapter! I'll be updating every week, so stay tuned! :)_

_-Shire from CollieandShire_

* * *

_**CHAPTER TWO**_

The decision had been made the moment Jarrod stepped in the house. He was bombarded with Krissy's pleads and Nick's bellows. It didn't take long for him to figure out what would be best. Krissy would have to stay home. Nick would be too distracted arguing with the eight-year-old to be much help, and Heath and Jarrod needed his help.

It was early the next morning, much earlier than Jarrod liked. But, his brothers wanted to get a head start on the day. He'd eaten his breakfast alone while Heath and Nick packed the wagon with supplies. Mother had taken the spare wagon to town to get some extra supplies for their trip, and had taken Krissy along with her. _It's probably just as well. _Jarrod thought with a smile. _Krissy would be pouting all morning otherwise. _

The sound of the wagon pulling up to the house announced the arrival of mother. Jarrod had just finished packing his suitcase, but paused at the sound of the door. He once more glanced back out the window, where he could see the boys had just finished packing the wagon. _They'll be impatient to go. _Jarrod thought. _Better say my goodbyes._

Jarrod walked down the stairs. He noted, with a smile, that Krissy was nowhere in sight. _Probably sulking._ He thought.

"Mother!" He called out.

Victoria practically ran from the room and said hastily, "Jarrod! I just got a telegram from my dear old friend Betty, and she's very sick! I must go down to Carson city immediately! She needs my help!"

"Of course mother." Jarrod replied with a smile. _It's obvious where Krissy get's her energy_. _Krissy. Oh yes. _Turning to mother, he inquired, "Mother, what about Krissy?"

"Oh dear!" She exclaimed. "I completely forgot about her. Well, I suppose she'll have to come with me. Though she'll hate it, we won't have time to do anything."

"Well, I suppose she could come with us." Jarrod mused. "After all, we're only going to the mountain cottage. There really is nothing she could get herself into trouble with there."

"Yes, but Nick specifically didn't want her along. And you said you needed him not distracted." Victoria objected.

"Well, he'll just have to get over it." Jarrod said, chuckling.

Victoria laughed. "I'll go pack her things. I'm sure you men are rearing to go."

"Good. I'll go tell Krissy." Jarrod said, heading straight to the barn. He knew his sister well, and knew she'd be there. "Krissy!" He called out.

"I'm not here!" A muffled voice replied.

"Oh, are you sulking?" He asked, his smile growing bigger.

"Whadya think?" The grouchy girl shot back.

"That's too bad, because you're coming with us."

"WHAT!" Krissy's head suddenly appeared as she shouted from the loft.

"Mother's packing your stuff right now." Jarrod replied.

"YIPPEE!" Krissy yelled. She accidentally lost her hold on the loft edge and tumbled down, Jarrod barely able to catch her.

She didn't seem regard the near accident at all, and kept yelling, "I'm coming with you! I'm coming with you!"

"Yes. Now go get your pony and tie him to the back of the wagon with Callie." Jarrod told her.

"Yes sir!" Krissy shouted with glee, and raced to go get Cheeseballs. Jarrod shook his head and laughed. She sure had quite the mood swings!

* * *

"Wait for me!" Krissy shouted out to Nick.

"Whadya mean, _wait for you_?" Nick demanded as Krissy cantered up on Cheeseballs.

"I'm coming with you!" She said happily, leaping off her pony and starting to tie him to the wagon.

"No, you're not." Nick growled.

"Yes I am!" She shot back defiantly. Heath snickered.

"JARROD!" Nick bellowed, realizing this may have to do with him taking so long. Jarrod appeared from the house. He had in his hand two suitcases, and was followed by their mother.

"Yes Nick." Jarrod said patiently.

"Tell her she's NOT coming with us." Nick snapped.

"Well, I would, but she is coming with us." Jarrod said, smiling as he put Krissy's suitcase in the back.

"See!" Krissy gloated.

"JARROD!" Nick yelled.

"Now Nick, be nice to your sister." Victoria said, smiling.

"Mother!" He protested. "She'll ruin EVERYTHING."

"No I won't!" Krissy replied decisively.

"Nick." Victoria commanded. "Be nice to your sister."

Nick new better than to argue, and turned his horse around, shouting to his siblings, "Let's get a move on. NOW!"

Everyone laughed, save Nick, who kicked his horse into a gallop. Jarrod leapt onto the wagon while Krissy leapt down and gave her mother a hug.

"Goodbye Mother. See ya later!" She said excitedly.

"Goodbye Krissy. Don't make Nick too mad." She replied.

Then Krissy leapt back onto the wagon with Jarrod and waved goodbye.

By this time Nick had trotted back, and he ordered Krissy, "Do not talk non stop!"

"I won't." Krissy promised.

* * *

_**Five Hours Later**_

"He's brown as a berry from riding the prairie, and he sings, with an ol western drawl!" Krissy sang, as she held onto the horses leads in the back of the wagon.

Nick looked like he was going to die if he had to endure anymore of her singing. Heath had a huge grin on his face, as did Jarrod.

"What's the matter Nick?" Jarrod asked. "Don't like Krissy's singing?"

Nick stopped his horse and gave Jarrod a dangerous look. "Shuttup." He growled. Krissy stopped singing, and her mouth dropped open.

"Nick!" She exclaimed. "You said the _bad word_!"

Heath couldn't keep it in, he burst out laughing. Jarrod joined in.

"Oh brother." Nick groaned.

"Don't worry, we'll be at the cabin in another hour." Heath said cheerfully.

"Great, that's just the news I wanted to hear. Another _hour _of singing." Nick muttered.

By this time Krissy had resumed her singing and had moved onto the next song.

"Lay some happiness, on me! So the brighter side, you'll see. No more loneliness, to be! Lay some happiness, on me!"

"Honestly, I can't believe she can sing that long." Nick mumbled. Heath shifted his weight in his saddle and squeezed his horse into a faster trot.

"She's got mother's sustain, that's for sure." Heath commented.

"….some happiness, on me! So the brighter side, you'll see! No more loneliness, to be! Lay some happiness on-HEY!"

Nick spurred his horse into a rollback and pulled out his gun, ready for whatever trouble Krissy had happened on. But what met his eyes was the last thing he was expecting. At first he was silent, stunned at the sight. Then he yelled, "Just what do you think you're doing!"

Jarrod had by now pulled the horses to a stop, and Heath had reined his horse in next to Nick. They were equally shocked.

There was Krissy, but she was no longer on the wagon. She'd jumped off, and was wrestling with a small creature. A grizzly cub.

"Krissy!" Jarrod shouted, panicked. "Let it go!"

Krissy stopped trying to pick up the cub and looked at her brothers. "What?" she asked.

"LET IT GO!" They all said in unison.

Krissy dropped the bear cub, and it ran away, bawling.

"Aww!" she groaned.

Then the sound everyone had been dreading to hear met their ears. Mamma bear wasn't happy.

"I believe that's our cue to get out of here." Nick muttered.

Heath didn't reply, he'd already sprung into action. Kicking his horse into a gallop, he swooped Krissy up with one arm. Then he jerked his horse around and galloped past Nick.

"Yhhhaaa!" Jarrod shouted, slapping the reins against the horses. They leapt into action, pulling the wagon as fast as they could go.

Nick made sure everyone was ahead of him before he turned around and galloped after them. He'd hardly left the area when he glimpsed the dark form racing after him.

It's safe to say they made it to the cabin in record time.


	4. Chapter three

_**CHAPTER THREE**_

After the grizzly had chased them, the rest of the trip to the cabin passed uneventfully. Krissy got an earful from Nick about being stupid (another word she repremanded him for saying, because it was a 'bad' word) a talking from Jarrod about the dangers of the woods, and several jokes from Heath. By the time they'd gotten to the cabin her punishment had been announced, early to bed for her. Unfortunately this decision was going to affect the rest of the boys the next day.

As a result of going to bed early, Krissy woke up early too.

At first she lay in bed, thinking about yesterday's events. But that got rather dull after a while, and she decided it was time to amuse herself.

Krissy threw the covers off the bed and jumped out. Yawning, she stretched her arms and shuffled over to the window. Pulling the blinds she looked out the window and saw-_snow? That can't be right! _Krissy thought. She rubbed her eyes and looked again. No, her eyes weren't deceiving her. There really was snow outside!

"SNOW!" Krissy shouted. She had to tell the boys!

Krissy raced into the boys' room, were they all lay sleeping. She glanced at the clock. It read four-thirty. _Oh well, they'll be excited to see the snow! _She decided.

"Wake up! Wake up! SNOW!" she shouted. Jarrod opened his eyes with a groan. Krissy now ran to Heath's bed. "Wake up Heath! It's snowing!"

Heath rolled over and mumbled, "Go back to bed Krissy."

Krissy ignored the comment and raced over to Nick's bed. "Wake up! Wake up! It snowed!" Nick snored. Krissy glared at him, then snatched Jarrod's pillow right from beneath his head.

"Hey!" Jarrod yelled.

Krissy paid no heed to Jarrod and brought the pillow down on Nick's head. WHAM!

Nick leapt up, snarling like a cougar. "Krissy!" he bellowed.

"Don't touch me!" Krissy shrieked, realizing the mistake she'd just made. Nick leapt out of the bed after her, and she ran to the window screeching.

"BE QUIET!" Nick roared.

"Look! Snow!" Krissy pleaded.

Nick stopped his assault and stared out the window. "That's not good." He said slowly, forgetting about Krissy.

Krissy took this opportunity to race past Nick and back into her own room.

"I'm on BASE!" she shouted from her bed.

"Not in my rulebook." Nick mumbled. He turned from the window and started towards Krissy's room.

By this time Heath and Jarrod were both up, and Jarrod was rubbing his head from Krissy's pillow thievery.

"Better look out the window Jarrod. It seems we've had a snow storm." Nick growled as he walked past him.

"Uhh, Nick? I'd advise leaving Krissy alone this morning. Otherwise we'll all pay the consequences of lots of screeching." Jarrod said with a sigh.

Nick stopped his forward assault, thinking this over. Then he shook his head and said, "Nah, she has it comin to her this morning!"

"Oh great." Heath muttered. "What a way to start off the morning."

"I agree." Jarrod replied, getting out of the bed and going to the window. One look outside and Jarrod knew they were in trouble. "Oh no." he breathed, worried.

"What is it Jarrod?" Heath queried, leaping out of his bed and walking over to join Jarrod at the window. "Oh, I see." he said.

"NNNNNOOOOOOOO!" Krissy screeched from the other room. "YOU CAN'T CATCH ME!"

"Yigh!" Jarrod shouted, putting his hands over his ears. "Honestly Nick, stop whatever you're doing."

"You heard Jarrod, go away!" Krissy shrieked.

"Not yet!" came Nick's muffled reply.

Heath started to laugh. Jarrod could only shake his head.

Krissy came running into the room and threw herself behind Jarrod. "Base! Base!" she shouted. Jarrod whirled towards the door, where Nick was charging through.

"Nick stop!" Jarrod commanded. Nick skidded to a stop, breathing hard.

"Just hand her over and you won't get hurt." Nick promised with a smirk.

"No!" Krissy wailed, clinging to Jarrod's legs. "Do not portray me big brother!"

"Krissy, it's betray, not portray." Jarrod began. "And no, I won't hand you over to Nick." turning to Nick, Jarrod said, "Really Nick, aren't you old enough to let a surprise wake-up pass you by?"

"No." Heath muttered.

"I heard that!" Nick snapped.

Jarrod put his hands up in dismay and sighed. "Just leave Krissy alone this morning, please?" he pleaded.

"Always do what Jarrod says!" Krissy sang out.

"You're just saying that because I'm going to imprint your face in the snow!" Nick snarled.

"Well if you ask me, that's a pretty good reason to defy you." Krissy replied.

"Alright Krissy, that's enough." Jarrod said sternly. "Enough arguing." Turning to the window, Jarrod gestured to the outside, saying, "If you ask me, we need to deal with the problem at hand. There's at the very least six inches of snow outside!"

"So?" Krissy said bluntly.

"Krissy!" Jarrod exclaimed. "How are we going to drive a wagon through _that_?"

Krissy stared out the window, thinking. Then announced, "Let's go play outside!"

Heath chuckled, and Jarrod moaned.

"Alright Krissy, you and I will go outside and leave the big kids to figure things out." Heath said with a twinkle in his eye.

"That's a good idea." Jarrod murmured, walking out of the room and towards the kitchen.

"Yippee!" Krissy shouted.

"You go get ready." Heath advised.

Krissy nodded and ran towards her room, slamming the door shut behind her. She threw off her nightgown and put on her riding cloths. Buttoning her shirt and throwing on her coat, she was ready to go.

Krissy flung her door open and shouted, "I'll be waiting outside Heath!" She was about to run out the door when a hand shot out and grabbed her. "Hey!" She said, struggling against his grip.

"Not so fast." Nick barked. "You're going to clean up our room!"

"No I'm not!" Krissy protested. "You do it!"

"For getting me up the way you did, YOU'RE going to do it." Nick commanded.

"Who says!" Krissy challenged.

"I did." Nick shot back.

"Under what penalty?" she sassed.

"Under the penalty of spankings." Nick growled.

Krissy stared at him, then exclaimed, "You can't spank me! Only mother and Jarrod are allowed to spank me!"

"Yeah, well, mother ain't here. So that leaves Jarrod in charge and me second in command." Nick lowered his voice and hissed, "And judging how much Jarrod is fussing over this white stuff, he's gonna be to busy to stop me!"

That's when Krissy decided she probably should do what Nick said. "Fine!" she grumbled, and ran back to the room, passing Heath on the way.

"Do it neatly!" Nick yelled after her.

Heath turned to look back at Krissy, then glanced at Nick. "Forced volunteerism?"

Heath asked with a grin.

"You might say that." Nick grunted. "But she's getting the job done!"

Heath shook his head and laughed.

* * *

Jarrod stared out the window, thoughts racing through his head. _Snow is bad, snow is very bad. Snow means no wagon, which means no getting home, which means no escaping from snow! _

Nick sat at the table, a cup of coffee in his hands as he watched Jarrod pace back and forth.

"Worried about something Jarrod?" he said, a grin spreading across his face as he took another gulp from his drink.

"Worried? No, I'm not worried. I'm panicked." Jarrod said, annoyed.

"It's only snow big brother." Nick commented.

"Only snow. Only snow!" Jarrod repeated sarcastically.

"Easy Jarrod! It ain't something to get fussy over. It'll probably melt by tomorrow."

"You know how I feel about snow Nick."

"Yeah," Nick said, smirking, "you hate it."

"I don't just _hate _it Nick." Jarrod lamented. "I hate it with a passion. It's cold, it's wet, when it melts it makes mud, it makes travel impossible-"

"You sure can bring a damper on a otherwise nice day." Nick grumbled.

"Nick how are we going to get off the mountain!" Jarrod snapped.

"I dunno, make runners on the wagon or something and put the wheels in the back. Then when we hit the lowlands just put the wheels back on." Nick said, lifting the coffee cup up to his mouth.

"That's it!" Jarrod shouted.

Nick spat the coffee out of his mouth. "Jarrod I was only joking!" Nick exclaimed.

"But it could work." Jarrod insisted.

"Honestly I think yer worrying about nothin.' It ain't like it's in the middle of the winter Jarrod, this will melt." Nick mumbled.

"Ah, but it's best to be prepared." Jarrod murmured. "You never know what's going to happen."


	5. Chapter four

_Thank you all my avid readers who've been following my story! I love reviews so if you've enjoyed this story, have a critique or something of the sort please leave me a note! :)_

_-Shire from CollieandShire_

* * *

_**CHAPTER FOUR**_

SPLAT! A snowball hit Heath square in the face.

"Beat that!" Krissy shouted.

Heath wiped the snow off his face and shook it. "Brrr Krissy! That was cold!" he complained.

"Get over it! You're a big kid, you're tough!" she said with a laugh. SPLAT! "Oww!" she hollered. Heath had hit her on the back.

Now it was Heath's turn to laugh. "So much for that thought!" he called out.

They had been outside for at least an hour, and had each built a snow fort. Now their work had paid off, and the battle had commenced. So far Heath was winning, but Krissy was fighting back pretty well.

"Take that!" Krissy shouted. Heath ducked as the snowball barely missed him.

"And that!" another snowball whizzed by his head. "And-AHH!"

Heath jerked his head up to see why Krissy screamed. "Hey!" he shouted. "What are you doing to her!"

The man let go of Krissy's arm, who in turn raced over to Heath.

"Didn't mean to startle you." he drawled. "But yer daughter nearly clobbered me. I jist grabbed her arm to protect myself, that's all."

Krissy peaked out from behind Heath's leg, and whispered to him, "That's not true. He grabbed me!"

Heath crossed his arms and stated flatly, "I don't care if she tried to hit you, you leave my sister alone."

"Sister!" he echoed in surprise. "I thought-"

"Look, it don't matter what you thought, you leave her alone." Heath warned.

The man held up his hands in surrender, and switched the subject. "Whatcha doing up here in this weather?" he gestured to the snow.

"That isn't any of your business." a voice shouted from behind Krissy.

Krissy yelped, and turned to see Nick standing next to them, Jarrod not far behind.

"I see you ain't the friendly type." the man joked.

No one responded.

"Well anyways, just wanted to warn ya. There's more danger in these woods than that grizzly bear that chased you. I met up with some mighty mean cowpokes earlier yesterday, I believe they were the outlaw type. When I heard you playin out here I decided to investigate. I heard a child laugh, so I thought I might jist drop by and tell ya. That's all."

"Well, thank you for your consern, but we're just fine." Jarrod said icely.

"I can see that." he replied. "Well, I best be getting on. Nice meetin you Barkleys."

With that he walked away with a friendly wave, and disappeared into the woods.

Everyone was silent, and no one said a word.

Finally, Krissy said, "He knew our name."

"What?" Nick asked.

"He knew our name!" Krissy repeated, her eyes widening. "Don't you see, we didn't _tell _him we were Barkleys, he already knew!" then she added, "And he knew about the grizzly bear too!"

"She's right!" Heath exclaimed. "We didn't mention any of that!"

"That can't be good." Nick muttered.

"I don't know about you, but I'd say our visitor might be the _unfriendly _cowboy." Jarrod mused.

Krissy looked from one brother to another. _Creepy. _She thought.

* * *

Krissy stood at the edge of Jarrod's bed, unmoved by what he'd just said.

"I will not sleep alone."

"Krissy-"

"I ain't sleeping alone! I'm scared of sleeping alone _and _it's too cold anyways."

"You weren't afraid of sleeping alone last night!" Jarrod protested.

"But now I am." Krissy said, a stubborn look on her face. "Because that bad man might come!"

"Krissy, he's probably not coming back." Nick groaned. It was eleven o'clock at night, and considering Krissy had gotten them up at four-thirty that morning, they were pretty tired.

"Not the way you guys were talking about it." Krissy insisted.

"She listens a lot better than we give her credit for." Heath murmured.

"Yes Krissy, there is a little danger, but nothing for you to worry about." Jarrod assured her. She wasn't convinced.

"No."

"Come on Krissy-"

"You guys are being selfish."

"How on earth are we being selfish!" Nick exploded.

"You just are." she replied with a yawn.

Jarrod sighed in frustration. "You really pick the worst times to argue." then he sighed again and said, "Alright you can sleep with me."

"Thank you!" she said, and jumped under the covers with him.

"You better not get us up early tomorrow." Nick growled.

"I won't." she promised.

"Good." Jarrod muttered as he drifted off to sleep.

It was quiet for about five minutes, and Jarrod figured Krissy had gone to sleep.

"What was that?"

"Huh, what?" Heath mumbled, lifting his head up.

"I heard something!" Krissy said, panicked.

"I didn't hear a thing." Jarrod said.

"Well you must be deaf because I heard something!" Krissy cried.

"Oh would you just GO TO SLEEP!" Nick roared.

"I'm sure I heard something, and I don't lie!" Krissy protested.

"Maybe it was Santa Claus?" Heath suggested sleepily.

"It _wasn't _Santa Claus. Besides, he only comes during Christmas time, and I don't think it's Christmas here. Unless they have a different calendar, which is highly unlikely. Of course if they were Indians than maybe -"

"Krissy, be quiet." Jarrod snapped. "There is nothing out there, you're just imagining things."

"Fine." Krissy grumbled, "When the bad guy comes and kills us all, it's _your _fault."

"I don't think we'll be worrying about who's fault it was in heaven." Heath said with a chuckle.

"No, I suppose not." Krissy said, yawning again. "How do we know we're going to heaven though?"

"Well we're Christians aren't we?" Nick moaned. "I wish you'd stop asking stupid questions."

"NICK! You said the _bad word_!"

"Oh for-Krissy, GO TO SLEEP."

"Fine." Krissy snapped.

It was quiet for another ten minutes, and Jarrod decided she'd finally gone to sleep. _About time. _he thought. _I thought I was going to die if she-_

"Nick."

"WHAT!"

"I'm sorry I was mean."

It was quiet for a second, then Nick's surprised voice broke it. "Well, gosh I forgive you, but why are you saying that now?"

"Because the bible says NEVER go to bed angry, because you never know when He's coming back."

"Well good for you Krissy." Jarrod murmured, "but please go to sleep now."

That was the last thing he remembered as he drifted off to sleep.


	6. Chapter five

_****__Okay, here are the last two chapters. I hope you have enjoyed this story! If you did please leave me a note, I really appreciate it! And thanks to all who have reviewed my story, you have no idea how much that means to me! _

_-Shire from CollieandShire  
_

* * *

_**CHAPTER FIVE**_

They were awoken with a shout.

"Hallo to the cabin!" a man's voice called out roughly.

"He's come to kill us!" Krissy shrieked.

That got everyone up.

Jarrod leapt out of the bed and ran to the window. "Oh great, she's right." he stated flatly.

"He's going to kill us!" Heath exclaimed.

"No, she's right about it being the same man." Jarrod said wearily. His eyes widened as he heard a gun being cocked.

"Nick what are you-" he began, but Nick cut him off.

"I'm being prepared in case he ain't friendly."

"I'm hiding!" Krissy announced from under the covers. Jarrod gave Heath a pleading look.

Heath read it and announced, "I'll hide with Krissy."

"That's great." Nick said sarcastically, "but if we need you be ready with your rifle."

"Whatever you say big brother." Heath replied with a grin.

Jarrod walked over to the door and opened it a crack. "What do you want!" he shouted.

The man outside grinned, and turned towards the woods, gesturing someone closer.

"He's calling someone over." Jarrod told Nick.

"Big surprise." Nick grunted.

Jarrod glanced down at the snow on the ground. "Hey Nick!" he exclaimed, "there's only an inch of snow outside!"

"See, what did I tell you? It was nothing to be worried about!"

"You still there mister!" the man shouted.

"Except for him." Nick added.

Jarrod looked back through the crack. Instead of just one man, there were now four. And they all had rifles.

"Doesn't look good." Jarrod said glumly.

"You're the Barkleys, right?" one of the men called out. He had blond hair.

"That's right." Jarrod shouted back.

"Well if you wanna live, you better listen to us."

"I knew it!" Krissy yelled from the other room. "I told you he was out to kill us!"

"Krissy would you shut up?" Nick snapped. There was silence for a minute.

"Nick! You said the-"

"Be quiet!" Nick barked.

Krissy did as she was told.

"Heath," Jarrod said, "you better get over here with your rifle. We have company."

"Did you hear what we said!" the main outlaw shouted.

"Yes we heard you!" Jarrod replied. "We're just discussing it."

"Well let's put it this way. You come out of that cabin with yer hands up and cooperate real nice like, everything will go well. If ya don't, well, you know what happens then." he patted his rifle.

"What do you want!" Nick roared.

"We want gold Mr. Barkley, we want gold." he replied.

"Well we haven't got any with us!" Jarrod exclaimed. "We're up here to check on the cabin!"

"Not from what we heard down in Stockton." the blond cowboy said.

"Oh, what did you hear down in Stockton?" Jarrod asked warily.

"You're out here because of a massive gold strike you discovered a while back. Well, we want it. Oh if you just hand it over, we'll bother you no more. But if you don't-" they cocked their guns, "you're outnumbered."

"Whadya mean!" Nick demanded. "There's four of us and four of you! The odds are against you for your sitting ducks and we're in the cabin!"

"You mean your going to put a child behind a rifle?"

"She shoots! She'll do fine!"

"You don't want to do this Mr. Barkley." one of the other guys called out. He not only had a rifle but a pistol strapped to his leg in a holster.

"Look, we don't have any gold. I have no idea where you heard such a tall tale but we're not here mining gold." Jarrod said with a sigh.

"I go with my gut feeling." the main cowboy replied.

"Oh I'll give your gut a feeling!" Nick shouted.

"Nick wait-" Jarrod began, but it was too late. Nick shoved him out of the way and fired through the crack in the door.

"Whoa! They scattered quickly!" Heath commented. He'd been watching the whole confrontation from the window.

The whole forest came alive with shots.

"Great Nick, just great." Jarrod mumbled. He snatched up his rifle and loaded it.

"What's going on?" Krissy asked from behind him. Jarrod started and whirled to face her.

"Krissy!" he exclaimed. "I thought you were in hiding!"

"Well I'm done hiding." she replied.

"Get back into the other room!" Nick ordered. He fired another shot from his rifle. Heath had opened up the window and was firing from there, pausing now and then to reload his rifle.

"Jarrod!" Nick bellowed. "Get over here and help!"

Jarrod turned to Krissy and commanded, "Krissy, get in the other room."

Krissy didn't dare disobey, and she raced into the other room.

Jarrod went into the kitchen and opened up that window. He cocked his rifle and fired towards the woods. It had begun to fill up with smoke from all the return firing, but they appeared undaunted so far.

"Keep firing!" Nick was shouting from the other room. "We're gonna give 'em their money's worth!"

"If I recall," Heath yelled over the shots, "you started this."

"Well yeah but they were going to fire eventually!" Nick shot back.

Jarrod reloaded his rifle and fired once more. Again and again the Barkley boys shot, and for five minutes the outlaws in the treed area returned the fire.

It took another four minutes for them to realize they'd stopped firing.

Jarrod lowered his rifle and peered into the smoke. He didn't see any movement, not that he could have anyways.

"Hey, I think we've won." Nick announced.

Jarrod walked back into the other room where his brothers were.

"That was odd." Jarrod muttered.

"Whadya mean?" Nick said, stretching his arms.

"Were on earth did they hear about us mining gold?" Jarrod said, confused.

"Oh, I can explain that." Heath said sheepishly. Jarrod and Nick stared at him.

"What does that have to do with you?" Nick exclaimed.

"I was joshing around with Matt Turner, the grocery store owner." Heath confessed. "You know what a gossiper he is. Well anyways, I casually mentioned we'd found the mother load of gold, and we were going up to the mountains to bring it down."

"Heath!" Jarrod groaned.

"I didn't know he would tell the likes of them!" Heath defended.

"Well now _you _know better!" Nick exploded. He cocked his gun.

"Why are you doing that?" Jarrod asked. He yawned, and stretched his arms. _I really need to catch up on some sleep. _he decided.

"I'm not!" Nick protested. "Heath is."

"No I'm not." Heath stated.

"I am." a cool voice sounded from behind. The boys whirled to face the men from earlier, who had their guns pointed at them.

"Great." Nick growled. "Just great."


	7. Chapter six and Ending

_**CHAPTER SIX**_

"Put your guns down." the man ordered. The boys hesitated. "I said put your guns down!" he shouted.

The boys reluctantly put the rifles down.

"Good." he growled, "now you can tell me where your gold is."

"We don't have the gold!" Heath said, frustrated. "I made that whole thing up!"

"That's not what we heard!"

"Look, mister,"

"It isn't mister, it's Robert." he growled.

"Alright _Robert,_" Nick said sarcastically, "we don't have that gold. Heath made the whole thing up. It was a joke!"

Robert stared at him, then pointed his rifle right between the eyes. The other cowboys murmured in approval.

"I'm giving you three seconds to tell me where it is." Robert said savagely.

"Whoa wait!"

"One."

"We don't have it!" Jarrod said desperately.

"Two."

"We don't have it!"

_BANG! _Robert crumpled to the ground. His partners stared, shocked to see him laying on the ground. Krissy was standing over him with a frying pan in her hands. The boys wasted no time.

They leaped onto the other three outlaws and tackled them down, taking their guns away.

Jarrod stood up, holding the gun of the blond cowpoke. He was breathing hard, and sighed with relief. Heath and Nick held up the other guns and pointed them at the men.

"It seems the tables have turned." Jarrod said at last. "Thanks to Krissy." he glanced at Krissy, who was glaring at Nick.

"What!" Nick exclaimed.

"YOU said the BAD word!" she shouted.

"What? What bad word? When?" Nick demanded, confused.

Heath burst out laughing, and Jarrod followed his example.

"Only you, Krissy. Only you." Nick grumbled. Krissy grinned.

* * *

Jarrod stumbled into his room, happy he was finally home. He glanced around at his belongings and sighed. "It's good to be back." he said to himself.

"Oh Jarrod! How was your trip?"

Jarrod turned around to see Victoria, who stood in the door way, a radiant smile on her face.

"Mother," he said, "we need to sell that cabin. It is a shabby little place in the middle of no where and it gets snow."

"Well yes dear, of course it gets snow. It's on the mountains." Victoria replied.

"That's exactly why we must get rid of it. I hate snow." Jarrod insisted.

_Wham! _The door downstairs was slammed open. A small pair of feet could be heard scurrying up the stairs, shrieking.

"You will _never _catch me!" she screamed.

"Oh yeah, we'll see about that!" came Nick's roar.

Jarrod walked over to the doorway and looked out just in time to see Krissy race past.

"Look out!" she yelled, laughing.

Too late, Jarrod was run over by the fast advancing Nick. _Bang! _

"Nick!" Jarrod groaned. "Do you really have to run in the halls?"

Nick paid no heed to Jarrod and leapt back up. "I'm coming Krissy!" Nick shouted. "You better hide!"

"You aren't going to find me!" her little voice sang out.

Nick ran down the hall.

"Nick!" Victoria called. "You really shouldn't run in the hallways. You could have an accident."

Jarrod rolled his eyes and shook his head. "He already _had _an accident."

Shrieks of laughter came from Krissy's room, as Heath walked up the stairs.

"How's the show so far?" he asked with a grin.

"You've missed most of it." Jarrod informed him. "Nick plastered me to the ground." Jarrod then added, "What's he mad about anyways?"

"Oh, you know, the usual." Heath said casually. "Krissy made some invention in the barn, and it exploded on his new saddle."

"Considering the facts he doesn't seem that mad." Jarrod commented.

Heath grinned. "Naw, he ain't mad, just chasing her for fun. He still feels grateful for that fast one she pulled off the other day."

"What did she do?" Victoria inquired.

Jarrod thought back to the last couple of days on the mountain. They'd taken the outlaws to the nearest town where they were jailed, they'd finished up some touch ups on the cabin, and they'd driven home. _Nick should be grateful. _He thought with a smile. _If Krissy hadn't been with us we'd never have gotten any of that done. Or worse, we could be dead. It's a good thing she knows how to use a frying pan! _

He turned to Victoria and shook his head. "It's a long story mother." he explained.

"Well I'd love to hear it." Victoria replied.

Heath threw his head back and laughed. "Oh you most certainly will!" he said. With that he laughed again, a good, long, hearty laugh.

_**THE END**_

* * *

_****Thank you to all my loyal readers and reviewers, I hope you've enjoyed the story! I will have more stories in the future about the Barkleys, and many other things besides. If you've enjoyed my writings, have a critique or comment please review! Until next time!  
_

_-Shire from CollieandShire  
_


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